


Precious Pain

by Arbryna



Series: Baby Fae [2]
Category: Lost Girl
Genre: Angst, Babies, Car Accidents, F/F, Family Drama, One Shot, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-14
Updated: 2013-07-14
Packaged: 2017-12-20 03:36:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/882483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arbryna/pseuds/Arbryna
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When tragedy strikes close to home, Tamsin has to stay strong for her family--a family she never thought she'd have.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Precious Pain

**Author's Note:**

> Based on a prompt from Neytiri's Heart. IT'S NOT MY FAULT OKAY.

"Mama up?"

"Just a second, honey, Mama's gotta answer her phone." 

Tamsin raises an eyebrow as she walks into the living room to see Ethan tugging insistently at the bottom of Bo's shirt, while Bo looks around trying to locate the source of the muffled ringtone. At a little over two years old, Ethan is definitely becoming a handful. He's started to resemble his dad a bit more, his hair growing out in dark curls and his skin gradually developing a light olive tone. Even with the influence of Hale's genetics, though, the kid is all Bo—as evidenced by the way he refuses to take no for an answer.

"Mama, _up_!" 

"Ethan, I said wait. Where the fae did my phone go?"

As Bo starts digging around in the couch cushions, Tamsin chuckles and shakes her head. She _could_ go in and help Bo out, but she just got off work and she's been looking forward to an ice-cold beer since lunch. She heads into the kitchen just as Bo lets out a triumphant cry. 

"Found it! Wait, why is the hospital calling me?" There's an audible frown in Bo's voice, then a wary, "Hello?" 

Tamsin pulls a beer from the fridge, half-listening to Bo's end of the conversation as she looks around for the bottle opener. 

"Yes, this is she." 

The top pops off of the bottle with a satisfying hiss, and Tamsin raises it to her lips, beyond ready for that cool, refreshing bite. 

"What?" The word is strangled, dangerously close to a sob. "Is she okay? What happened?" 

A sick feeling starts to churn in Tamsin's gut, and she sets her beer down on the counter, moving over to the doorway. Bo is perched on the edge of the couch, one hand covering her mouth as she listens to whomever is talking on the other end. Her face is pale as death—and Tamsin would know. 

"O-of course. I'll be right there." Bo holds the phone in a white-knuckled grip as she lowers it to her lap. She stares blankly ahead as Ethan tries to use her knees as leverage to climb up onto the couch with her. He can't quite make it, and starts to fuss as his attempts go unnoticed. 

Tamsin pulls out her own phone and quickly navigates to her recent calls, hitting "send" as she swoops in to gather Ethan up to rest on her hip. 

"What up, Valkyrie?" Kenzi answers after a couple of rings. 

"Kenzi, we're gonna need you and Hale to take Ethan tonight." Tamsin is on auto-pilot as she heads to Ethan's room. 

"Ooh, last minute sexytimes? Wait, on second thought, don't answer that." 

"That's _so_ not it," Tamsin says, cradling the phone between her shoulder and ear so she can scoop up Ethan's diaper bag. She doesn't usually handle that shit; hopefully it's got everything Kenzi and Hale might need in it. 

Kenzi must sense something in Tamsin's voice, because her next question contains no trace of friendly ribbing. "Is everything okay?"

"I don't know yet." Tamsin juggles Ethan and the diaper bag on her way back to the living room. Bo is still sitting in the same position. "I'll keep you posted. We'll drop him off in a few?"

"Sure thing. I'll call Hale and let him know."

"Thanks, Kenzi."

"Anytime. We love having the little guy around."

Tamsin sinks down onto the couch next to Bo; as she lowers the phone from her ear, she realizes her hand is shaking. Ethan squirms on her lap until she finally gives in and lets him crawl over onto Bo's. She doesn't really need to ask—nothing else could have put that look on Bo's face—but something in her needs to hear the words. "It's Lauren, isn't it?"

Almost automatically, Bo wraps her arms around Ethan, holding him close to her chest. When she turns to look at Tamsin, the fear in her eyes is deeper and more intense than Tamsin has ever seen. "There's been an accident."

The blood in Tamsin's veins turns to ice.

***

_Six months ago_

"Whatever it is, you know you can tell us," Bo says encouragingly. She's next to Tamsin on the couch, looking across the coffee table where Lauren is perched stiffly on the edge of an armchair. 

"I know, I just—well, I don't really know how—" Lauren stops, sighs. Her brow furrows. "I'm pregnant." 

For a moment both Bo and Tamsin sit in stunned silence. Finally Tamsin smirks, sure that this is some kind of joke. "Wow, Doc, I didn't figure you for liking a little sausage on the side." 

Lauren frowns and shakes her head. "No, I don't—I mean, I haven't been with anyone but you and Bo." 

"Uh, sweetie," Tamsin says with a nervous chuckle, gesturing between herself and Bo, "We may be pretty damn good, but I don't think either of us is _that_ good."

"She has a point," Bo agrees, though she sounds a lot more accepting of the idea. "I mean, how is it even possible?" 

"I've thought about that," Lauren replies, lacing her fingers together in her lap. "I think it might have something to do with the case you were on a few weeks ago—with that fertility idol?" 

"I remember," Bo says, grinning at the memory. Then she frowns. "But I didn't even bring it home—and all it did was make me really horny. The guy who had it didn't say anything about it causing spontaneous pregnancy." 

"Not on its own, no." Lauren shifts in her seat. "I think it has something to do with your nature as a succubus. When you touched it, its power combined with yours in a way no one has ever seen before—at least, no one that documented it. It's the only explanation I can think of." 

Oh, shit. This is actually happening. Tamsin tenses, a little overwhelmed as reality sets in. She's still getting used to having _one_ kid around—how the hell is she gonna deal with two?

***

The emergency room is bustling with activity, full of concerned loved ones and patients waiting to be seen. Tamsin holds tight to Bo's hand as she shoves her way through the crowd, finally stopping at the reception desk.

"We're looking for Lauren Lewis." 

The receptionist looks up and raises an eyebrow. "And you are…?"

Tamsin grits her teeth. "Not in the mood for your shit. Where is she?"

"I'm sorry, I can only discuss that information with family." 

Bracing her hands on the edge of the desk, Tamsin leans over menacingly. "We are her goddamn family. Now if you want to go on breathing, you'd better start talking." 

Paling considerably, the receptionist reaches for her phone. "I'm calling security." 

Tamsin is ready to valk-out on the bitch, but Bo steps in before she gets the chance, reaching across the desk to slide her hand over the one holding the phone. "You don't want to do that, do you…Jocelyn?" Bo asks, glancing down at the woman's nametag. Her voice is hoarse and strained, yet somehow still alluring. "It'd be easier just to tell us what we want to know." 

Nodding, Jocelyn sets her phone back in its cradle, turns to her computer. After a few seconds of typing, she looks back up at Bo. "She's still in surgery. There's a waiting room on the third floor." 

Bo does her best to smile, clasps the woman's hand in hers again. "Thank you." 

"Or you could wait down here," Jocelyn says, looking longingly at Bo. 

Narrowing her eyes, Tamsin presses her hand to the small of Bo's back. "We'll be fine on the third floor, thanks." 

The walk to the elevators is silent and full of anxious tension. Surgery means it's serious, means there's a chance Lauren might not make it—not to mention the baby. Once in the elevator, Bo crumbles against Tamsin, pressing her face into the curve of Tamsin's neck. 

"I can't lose her yet, Tamsin," Bo murmurs tearfully into Tamsin's neck. "I'm not ready." 

Tamsin slides her arms around Bo, swallowing around the lump in her throat. It's easier to focus on being strong for Bo than it would be to acknowledge the caustic fear eating away at her gut.

***

_Four months ago_

"The baby seems to be doing fine," the doctor says, glancing up from the clipboard in his hands.

Lauren sighs, relaxing back into the pillows of her hospital bed. She and Bo share a relieved smile as Tamsin watches, hands shoved into her pockets as she leans against the wall. Bo squeezes Lauren's hand and looks up at the doctor. "And Lauren? Why did she faint?" 

The doctor—Doctor Greenwald, his ID badge says—flips through Lauren's chart, his eyes scanning over the page as he speaks. "Your lab results show a slightly lowered blood sugar. Coupled with the expected decrease in blood pressure, it was probably just too much for your body to take."

Tamsin can't help but smirk in Lauren's direction. "Looks like all that healthy eating is catching up to ya, Doc." 

"Actually," Lauren says, rolling her eyes, "hypoglycemia is very common during pregnancy. I thought I was increasing my food intake enough to counteract it, but I must have been wrong." 

"You need to take better care of yourself," Bo says, nudging Lauren's hip with their joined hands. Her smile is strained, and Tamsin can still see traces of Bo's earlier fear lingering in her eyes. It wasn't the most pleasant experience, watching your girlfriend drop to the ground out of the blue. 

"Well, you're a doctor yourself, so I'm sure you're familiar with what I'm going to tell you," Dr. Greenwald says. "Make sure you get plenty to eat and drink, get lots of rest, and try not to get up too quickly. If the dizziness persists, come back in for a follow-up. We can re-check for anemia and other serious problems." 

"Thank you." Lauren gives the doctor a polite smile as he exits the room, then turns back to Bo, squeezing her hand reassuringly. "Really, Bo, I'm fine." 

"And I'm gonna make sure you stay that way," Bo says, looking sternly at Lauren. "You are officially on my no-feed list until the baby is born."

Lauren opens her mouth to argue, but Tamsin chimes in before she can speak. "I wouldn't argue with her. She's getting pretty good at the whole Momzilla thing." 

Bo responds with a glare. Lauren just sighs in resignation, holding tight to Bo's hand. This is going to mean a bit more work for Tamsin, more coffee and Red Bulls with her vodka, but it's not the worst kind of work in the world.

***

Tamsin is starting to think she'll never have feeling in her hand again. Bo's been gripping it so tightly the tips of her fingers are turning purple, but Tamsin's sure as hell not going to pull away. She's been telling herself that it's for Bo's benefit, but the truth is she needs a lifeline to cling to just as much. She can't recall when she became so attached to the idea of this baby—or hell, to Lauren in general—but she knows that the thought of losing either one of them is enough to make her feel like her chest is gong to collapse in on itself.

The doors to the surgery wing swing open, and Bo is on her feet so quickly that Tamsin nearly gets her arm pulled out of its socket. She rubs at her shoulder as the doctor approaches, her scrubs damp with sweat. 

"Bo Dennis?" 

"That's me," Bo says, clamping down harder on Tamsin's hand. "What happened? Is she okay?" 

"One thing at a time," the doctor says calmly. "I'm Doctor Chen. I performed Lauren's surgery. She was involved in a car accident, as I'm sure you've been told." 

Bo draws a shaky breath and nods. "I don't get it, though. Lauren's the safest driver I know." 

Dr. Chen sighs. "From what I understand, the other driver was intoxicated." 

Anger simmers in Tamsin's veins. "Did they survive?" 

"I'm not sure," Dr. Chen says hesitantly. "As far as I know, he's still in the ER." 

Finally, something she can do. "I'll kill him." Tamsin balls her free hand into a fist, savoring the sting of her fingernails biting into her palm. She tries to pull her other hand free from Bo's, but Bo holds on tight.

"Tamsin, please." Bo's voice is so soft, so broken, that Tamsin can't do anything but obey. She stays at Bo's side, her entire body stiff and trembling. Bo turns back to the doctor. "What about Lauren? She's okay, right?" 

"We've done all we can," Dr. Chen says. "She's still unconscious from the anesthesia, but otherwise she's stable. There was some swelling in her brain, and we had to drill into her skull to relieve the pressure. We won't know if there was any brain damage until she wakes up." She pauses. "The accident also ruptured the amniotic sac."

Bo pales. "The baby…is she—"

"She's stable," Dr. Chen assures. "We had to perform an emergency cesarean to prevent further complications. We've got her set up in the NICU, and so far everything looks promising."

The grip on Tamsin's hand finally relaxes a bit, and Tamsin winces as sensation returns to her fingertips in the form of pins and needles. Bo breathes in to steady herself. "Can we see them?"

***

_Three months ago_

It's the middle of the afternoon when the door to Lauren's home lab flies open. Bo is on the floor helping Ethan build towers out of wooden blocks, while Tamsin lounges on the couch and flips through channels on the television. Three sets of eyes turn to lock onto a triumphant Lauren.

"I think I've figured it out," Lauren says, smiling in that breathless way she gets whenever she makes some kind of breakthrough. 

"Figured what out?" Bo eyes her warily. "You're being careful in there, right?"

"Of course I am," Lauren says, moving to sit next to Tamsin on the couch. "The baby," she continues. "I think she's fae." 

"How?" Bo asks, at the same time that Tamsin says, "You do know that's impossible." 

Lauren dismisses Tamsin's scoff and quirked eyebrow with a shake of her head. "It's _supposed_ to be impossible, but so is this pregnancy. It must be some kind of effect of the fertility idol." 

"Wow." Bo sits back on her heels, stunned.

"Are you sure about this, Doc?" Tamsin asks. 

"Not a hundred percent," Lauren admits. "But I've done every test I can think of, and her genetic makeup is far closer to Bo's than it is to mine. It would explain why I've been so tired, and why I fainted. She's taking in nutrients faster than my body can replace them." 

"Damn, Succubus," Tamsin says, smirking at Bo. "You really are good." 

Bo narrows her eyes, glancing pointedly at Ethan, who is currently gravitating toward Lauren's knees. "Watch your language." 

Tamsin rolls her eyes. "Yes, Mom." 

"Mommy," Ethan declares, pointing up at Lauren with a chubby finger. 

"Yeah, yeah," Tamsin says, shaking her head. "I know. Bo's Mama, Lauren's Mommy. That sh—" she stops abruptly, cowed by Bo's glare. "—stuff is so confusing." 

Ethan's finger drops lower, pointing toward Lauren's stomach. "Mommy baby?" 

"That's right," Lauren says, reaching down to pull Ethan onto her lap. She looks down at her belly, still only slightly swollen. "That's your baby sister." She drops a kiss into the soft curls on Ethan's head. "And she's going to be fae, like you." 

"Baby fae!" Ethan repeats with a grin. 

"Barf," Tamsin groans. "I need a drink if you're going to keep being this cute. Or a shot of insulin." 

Bo shuffles across the carpet, nudging Tamsin's knee with her shoulder as she settles back against the couch. Tamsin's hand drops almost automatically to Bo's head, fingers idly stroking through dark hair. "You love it," Bo accuses.

Tamsin scoffs. "You'll never get me to admit that."

***

The neonatal ICU is an intense place. Tamsin's been on overload since she got to the hospital, subject to all of the doubt and fear and desperation within its walls, but this place…well, this place is worse. It's dim, and eerily quiet for a room that houses so many infants. All she really hears is the whirring and beeping of machines, interrupted every now and again by a sigh or moan, a brief cry.

Damn it, Tamsin is hardly comfortable around one baby, let alone several sick ones; and the one in front of her, that's the worst. Charlotte is almost two months early, and while her fae blood seems to have helped her develop a bit faster than a normal kid, she's still not quite out of the woods. She's tiny, far tinier than Ethan was, and the wires taped all over her only serve to make her look smaller. A small tube rests under her nose, delivering oxygen as her little chest rises and falls. 

Charlotte's tiny fingers are wrapped loosely around Bo's index finger, twitching unconsciously as Bo strokes the back of her hand with her thumb. Bo's other hand is still laced with Tamsin's, thankfully lacking in its earlier vigor. 

"She's gonna be okay," Tamsin says, trying not to roll her eyes at herself. As empty a platitude as it is, Bo needs to hear it. "They both are." 

"I hope you're right," Bo sighs. She releases Tamsin's hand, sliding an arm around her waist as she drops her head onto Tamsin's shoulder. "I just wish I could do something." 

"You can't be everyone's hero, Succulette," Tamsin says with a wry smile. Bo stiffens, and Tamsin does roll her eyes when Bo starts to lean over the baby. "That wasn't a challenge." 

Bo pays her no heed, leaning over until her lips hovers right over Charlotte's. After a moment, a thin stream of pink chi drifts out of her mouth and into the baby's. Charlotte shifts a little, smacks her lips, but the monitors she's plugged into don't change. 

"It was worth a shot," Bo says dejectedly. 

Tamsin didn't expect that to work, really. The doctors said there's nothing strictly _wrong_ with Charlotte—she just needs to grow a little more before she's ready to go home. Of course, patience has never been anywhere near Bo's repertoire, and pointing that out isn't likely to help anything. Instead, Tamsin slips an arm around Bo's shoulders, pulling her close.

***

_One month ago_

The house is blissfully quiet for once. Bo is out with Ethan at the park, and Lauren's been locked away in her lab for most of the day, so Tamsin pretty much has the place to herself. It's a rare occurrence, and one she intends to take full advantage of. She kicks her shoes off and sinks down onto the couch, relaxing against the cushions as she raises her beer to her lips. In a bit, she'll grab the remote and see what kind of bloody profanity-filled action movie is on TV—the kind of thing she could never watch with Ethan in the house—but for now she's content to sit back and drink in the silence and cold, cold booze. 

The quiet lasts for roughly two minutes before the door to Lauren's lab creaks. Tamsin cracks an eye open.

"Sorry." Lauren offers an apologetic smile, crossing the room toward the kitchen. "I was just coming to grab a snack."

Tamsin waves a hand dismissively. "Go for it," she says, taking another swig of beer. "You're not begging me to get it for you, or crying 'cause Bo said I couldn't give you any more sugar, so it's all good." 

Lauren's smile widens. "He is getting to be a handful," she says. 

"You can say that again." Tamsin lets her head fall to the back of the couch, holding her beer steady on her thigh. "Between him, you getting up to go to the bathroom ten times a night, and Bo fussing over you both, I don't think I even remember what sleep is." 

For a second it looks like Lauren will just continue on to the kitchen, but then she changes course, sitting down next to Tamsin on the couch. 

"What's up, Doc?" Tamsin says, chuckling a little at her own lame joke. 

"You're okay with all of this, right?" Lauren asks, hands fidgeting in her lap. "I know we haven't really talked about it." 

Tamsin shrugs, takes another drink. "I'm fine," she says, drawing the word out. "I've decimated entire armies with a look. I think I can handle a couple of rugrats." 

"I'm sure you can," Lauren says, a crooked smile tugging at her lips. "But I know this isn't exactly what you planned for your life." 

"Plans are for pussies," Tamsin scoffs. Her mood takes a turn for the serious as she remembers why she never used to make any plans. Hell, she's still getting used to the fact that she can even make plans for herself again. "Besides, it's a hell of a lot better than some of the alternatives." 

Lauren reaches for Tamsin's free hand, squeezing it gently. "I would understand if it's too much for you," she says calmly. "Given time, I'm sure Bo would too." 

They would understand—Tamsin's never doubted that. It's one of the reasons she can't fathom the idea of leaving. Tamsin shakes her head and tugs until Lauren is resting against her side. "You're not getting rid of me that easily," she says, slipping her arm around Lauren's shoulders and squeezing gently. 

"Good," Lauren says, raising her head to kiss Tamsin happily. 

"Now go and feed yourself, woman," Tamsin says when the kiss ends. She nudges Lauren with her hip. "Bo will go full-on psycho on me if she thinks I kept you from taking care of yourself." 

Lauren rolls her eyes, but she moves to get up anyway. Tamsin lifts her beer to her lips again as she watches Lauren walk toward the kitchen. This isn't a situation she ever expected to be involved in—family, kids, the whole shebang—but when she looks back at what her life was before, there's really no contest.

***

Sunlight filters in through the window, steadily growing brighter until Tamsin can't stay asleep any longer. She blinks her eyes open, stretches her neck and shoulders. These hospital chairs are definitely not designed for comfort. Bo is exactly where Tamsin expected she would be: perched on the edge of her chair, folded over the side of Lauren's bed, snoring softly while she holds tight to Lauren's hand. She's going to regret it when she wakes up—that position does _not_ look comfortable—but Tamsin figures she won't really care. Bo's stubborn like that.

Angry purple bruises mar Lauren's face, and a thick white bandage is wrapped around her head, covering the hole the doctors drilled into her skull. It's funny, Tamsin thinks, the things that stick around even when modern medicine has come so far. Whatever crazy person first thought of drilling holes into people's heads probably had no idea that people would still be doing it nine thousand years later. Tamsin has to admit though, it's a much cleaner process now—and morphine is probably a lot more effective than cheap homemade liquor.

A quick, quiet knock on the door rouses Bo, and she rubs the sleep from her eyes with her free hand while Tamsin gets up to see who's visiting at such an ungodly hour. She opens the door to find a weary Kenzi, leaning heavily against Hale as he tries to wrangle a squirming Ethan. 

"This little man was missing his mamas," Hale explains quietly, smiling in spite of his obvious exhaustion. Considering Kenzi was up texting Tamsin for updates most of the night, neither of them probably got much sleep. 

"Mama!" Ethan cries, stretching his arms out to Bo.

"Aw, come here, baby," Bo says, holding her arms open. Hale puts Ethan down, slipping an arm around Kenzi's shoulders. Ethan races across the room and Bo scoops him up into her arms, pulling him onto her lap and holding him close as she murmurs soft reassurances into his hair. 

Kenzi tries and fails to fight back a yawn. "Any news?"

Tamsin crosses her arms, shrugs. "Still waiting for her to wake up." 

"I'm surprised Bo didn't do her whole chi-vomit thing on her," Kenzi says, eyeing the damage still visible on Lauren's face.

"Believe me, she wanted to." Tamsin rolls her eyes. "I had to work my ass off convincing her it would only cause trouble. Human hospital, human doctors…if she's suddenly healed of every little wound, someone's gonna get suspicious, and we do _not_ need fae political drama on top of everything." A little pang of guilt pricks at her chest as she glances over at Lauren. Convincing Bo not to heal Lauren was the last thing Tamsin had wanted to do. "Besides, she's stable. The only thing left to worry about is brain damage, and even Bo's magical sex breath can't make her wake up any faster." 

Tamsin sags against the wall, watching as Kenzi crosses the room to wrap an arm around Bo's shoulders and murmur quietly to her. A yawn swells up in Tamsin's throat, and she covers her mouth with a fist as it escapes. 

Hale nods in her direction. "How you holding up, T?"

"I could use a drink," Tamsin says dryly. "Or ten." 

"I hear that." Hale chuckles. "But it might not be the best idea right now." 

Looking over at Bo—red-rimmed eyes, face puffy from sleep and last night's tears—Tamsin sighs. She never thought she'd be counted on to be the stable one. "Yeah, I know."

"Hang in there, Tammers," Kenzi says as she returns to Hale's side, holding out her fist for Tamsin to bump with her own. "Whatever happens, they're gonna need you." 

"I'm not going anywhere," Tamsin says softly. It's still strange, feeling needed.

"Aight," Hale chimes in as Kenzi curls into his side. "We gotta go catch up on some much-needed Z's. You ladies need anything?"

"Nah, I think we've got it covered," Tamsin replies with a shrug. "Just watching and waiting." 

Kenzi yawns again. "Thank _god_ ," she says. "Bo-Bo, we are out. Text me later if you want us to bring by some real food or something. And _you_ ," she turns back to Tamsin, "take good care of my girl." 

"You got it, squirt," Tamsin says, smirking when Kenzi glares at her in response. 

"Bye you guys," Bo says hoarsely, stroking Ethan's back as he dozes against her chest. "Thanks for taking him last night."

"Ain't no thang," Kenzi says with an exaggerated shrug. She contorts her fingers into some bizarre pseudo-gang sign, smiling at Ethan. "Catch ya later, E-dawg."

Tamsin moves to Bo's side as Kenzi and Hale slip out. Her hand drops to Ethan's head, idly running her fingers through his curls. Bo looks up at her with a tired, strained attempt at a smile, reaching for her free hand.

"Thank you, Tamsin," Bo says, squeezing gently at Tamsin's hand. Her eyes are wet with the threat of more tears. "I don't know what I would have done last night without you." 

"Whatever." Tamsin rolls her eyes self-consciously. "Someone's gotta be the calm, well-adjusted one, right?" 

Bo smiles wider, almost laughs—it feels like the biggest victory of Tamsin's life. "If you're well-adjusted, then we're all in trouble."

Before Tamsin can think of an appropriate comeback, a soft moan sounds in Lauren's throat. Any attempt at levity is forgotten as both Bo and Tamsin turn and watch Lauren slowly blink awake. 

"What happened?" Lauren asks groggily, looking around to register her surroundings. She winces, her hand shooting to her stomach, and her brow furrows. "The baby—"

"She's fine." Bo reaches for Lauren's hand, squeezing reassuringly. "There…there was an accident," she continues shakily, her voice threatening to break. "They had to—"

"Mommy?" Ethan mumbles, rubbing at his eyes as he looks up at Lauren. "Mommy owwie?" 

Tamsin sees the quick dart of Bo's eyes as she glances between Lauren and Ethan. The kid probably doesn't need all of the details Lauren is sure to demand. "Hey, little dude," Tamsin says, scooping him up out of Bo's lap. "I bet there's a ton of candy in the vending machines. Why don't we go check it out?"

"Candy!" Ethan exclaims happily, clapping his hands together. He's still thankfully young enough to be easily distracted. 

Bo flashes Tamsin a grateful smile before turning her attention back to Lauren. As they slip out the door, Ethan wraps his arms around Tamsin's neck, resting his head on her shoulder.

"Mommy okay?" Ethan asks. Apparently the distraction was only a temporary one. 

"She'll be fine, kiddo," Tamsin says, giving him a squeeze. 

He seems to accept that, curling his head further into the crook of Tamsin's neck. "Love you, TamTam."

For a good long moment, Tamsin is speechless. She focuses on putting one foot in front of the other, ignoring the moisture that springs unexpectedly to her eyes. She's gotten used to hearing the words from Bo and Lauren—which is weird enough on its own—but it's the first time Ethan's said them to her. "Yeah, same to you," she finally replies, the words barely more than a breath. "Same to you."


End file.
